Saudi Arabia has previously promised to open the ports, but a further closure within the 30-day period would cause a major political problem, not just for Yemen, but also UK-Saudi relations.

'Only God can save us': Yemeni children starve as aid is held at border

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In a statement published on the Saudi government-run news agency, the coalition leadership said: “The port of Hodeidah will remain open for humanitarian and relief supplies and the entry of commercial vessels, including fuel and food vessels, for a period of 30 days.”

UK government officials said ministers had presented operational details to Saudi officials on ships waiting for clearance, and this had helped lift restrictions on three commercial food ships and one fuel ship.

The officials said the first fuel vessel to be cleared to enter Hodeidah in over a month was due to dock in the next 24 hours. Fuel is vital to pump water, transport food and mill grain. Yemen aid agencies on the ground also said they expected shipments to start moving shortly.

The foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted: “I am very pleased at today’s announcement by the Saudi-led Coalition that Hodeidah port in Yemen is open again. I have been urging this step for some time, and I hope this will start to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people and get them the supplies they desperately need.”

British ministers will be furious if the latest commitments prove worthless.

Timeline

Yemen since the Arab spring

January 2011 –
November 2011

Arab spring protests erupt against Ali Abdullah Saleh, in power in Yemen since 1978. He agrees to step down in return for immunity from prosecution

February 2012

Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Saleh’s former deputy, succeeds him as president.

Houthi rebels take control of most of Sana’a and form an anti-Hadi alliance with forces loyal to Saleh.

January 2015

The Saleh-Houthi forces seize the presidential palace in Sana’a and Hadi flees to Aden, Yemen’s second city.

March 2015

Saudi Arabia enters the war at the head of a nine-country coalition bombing the rebels in defence of Hadi’s internationally-recognised government.

January 2017

The UN puts the death toll at 10,000 since the Saudi intervention.

November 2017

Saudi Arabia tightens its blockade on Yemen, including of humanitarian aid, after a rocket fired from the country falls close to Riyadh.

December 2017

Saleh reaches out to the Saudi-led coalition, offering to “turn the page” if it lifts the blockade. The Houthis accuse him of a “coup against our alliance” and ambush his convoy as it flees Sana’a, killing him.

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The Saudis may feel they are making military advances, and the future of Hodeidah is a distraction over the next month as it seeks to persaude the international community that Iran has been responsible for the scale of the Houthi resistance.

But Theresa May also spoke to the US President Donald Trump about the blockade on Tuesday. International development secretary Penny Mordaunt told the Saudis that they had no excuse to cut off humanitarian aid in a visit to Riyadh on Monday.

Theresa May also spoke to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by phone and welcomed the Saudi decision to reopen the port. According to Downing Street, she said that British officials have travelled to the region to “assist with the UN inspection process, helping to speed up the distribution of much-needed humanitarian and commercial supplies”.

Saudi Arabia has claimed the blockade has been necessary since arms and ammunitions designed for the Houthi rebels were being smuggled onto the aid ships, requiring a tighter new UN-monitored inspections regime. No ship is allowed into Hodeidah unless the Saudis give the cargo permission to dock, and it has been claiming that most ships have not been subject to sufficient inspection.

Houthis have three times fired long-range missiles towards Riyadh, provoking international condemnation. Saudi Arabia claims the missiles are Iranian-supplied missiles, but Tehran has rejected the allegation.